Today, practically all information processing takes place in computers. The information processed often consists of text which is input to the computer by the intermediary of a keyboard. If the text which is to be input has already been written on a sheet of paper, a scanner is sometimes used for the inputting.
Sometimes there is a need for inputting hand-written or other hand-generated information to a computer. An example of this is when one wishes to input a person's signature. Presently, this can be carried out by scanning the signature or by the person writing his signature with the aid of a mouse in a drawing program.
Certain smaller computers, so-called pocket computers, have an interface enabling inputting of hand-written text with the aid of a pen. More specifically, such computers have a touch-sensitive screen, upon which the user writes with a pen. The computer records the movement of the pen across the screen. ICR software (ICR=Intelligent Character Recognition) identifies the characters represented by the recorded movement and stores them in character-coded format in the computer. A drawback of this technique is that it requires access to a touch-sensitive screen.
Moreover, by way of JP 03265023, it is known to input hand-written text to a computer with the aid of a pen whose tip is provided with a ball. When one “writes” with the pen on a substrate, the ball rolls. With the aid of information about how much and in which direction the ball is moving, the computer can determine how the pen is being moved. A drawback of this device and other devices based on moving mechanical components is that the moving component makes the device more difficult to manufacture and less durable.
Furthermore, EP 0 629 759 discloses a device for storing hand-written text in the form of an image. This device has no moving parts. It comprises a pen tip and a CCD area sensor which is used to reproduce that written with the pen tip. In one embodiment, the device has the pen tip at a first end and the CCD sensor at a second end. In this case, the user first writes with the pen tip and then turns the device and activates the CCD sensor to reproduce what has already been written. In another embodiment, the pen tip and the CCD sensor are located at the same end of the device. In this case, the CCD sensor continuously reproduces what is being written by recording images. The images which have partially overlapping contents are put together to a composite image of what has been written. When the written information is to be shown, the composite image is shown.